Four Seasons Hotel Doha

Four Seasons Tenure

• Since 2024
• First Four Seasons Assignment: Current

Employment History

• Waldorf Astoria Lusail, Qatar; Waldorf Astoria Dubai International Financial Center; Peyote Restaurants, Dubai; Zaya Nurai Island, Abu Dhabi; Conrad Dubai; Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa, Dubai; The St. Regis Doha; The St. Regis Mexico City; Restaurante Mi Cocina, Quito, Ecuador; W Mexico City

Education

• Hospitality Management, Le Ecole Les Roches, Bluche, Switzerland

Birthplace

• Mexico City, Mexico

Languages Spoken

• Spanish, French, English, Italian

“I really didn’t come here to change anything, just to add my touch to what is already working so well,” says Gonzalo Bueno of managing the scintillating array of dining and drinking experiences at Four Seasons Hotel Doha. As Food and Beverage Director, Bueno is key to igniting creativity and innovation to maintain the Hotel’s leadership on the booming hospitality scene in the capital of Qatar. “Every food and beverage operation needs new blood for fresh ideas and experiences. I’ve always believed that hospitality works best when it keeps moving.”  

The menu of outlets under Bueno’s microscope is long, serving a range of cuisines in settings both splashy and classy, including three celebrity-chef-driven outlets – Le Deli Robuchon, Curiosa by Jean-Georges, and Nobu Doha – that draw passionate clientele. He arrived at the Hotel at just the right moment to usher in new front- and back-of-the house teams at the last, led by a new General Manager and Chef de Cuisine. “Both of them grew up with Nobu, which offers us a great opportunity to refresh the operation and keep it ahead of the market.”

That market grows more vibrant all that time. Locals and international arrivals are eager to enjoy themselves on the dining scene in Doha, and restaurants and bars throughout the city are responding in kind. “People here don’t go out for food and drinks alone anymore. They go for a full experience,” says Bueno, noting that DJs spinning music, lighting, and staff uniforms are part of the draw these days. “When you think about it, the experience is what people remember most about dining out. The service and atmosphere we provide are what bring them back.”

Whatever the outlet, Bueno is keen on development, preferring to empower team members by teaching them “to be owners of what they do.” As Director, he brings in his own perspective, shaped over two decades, many miles, and more than a dozen management assignments, to broaden those of staff. The key to success is working together to be the first in the market with new promotions. “It’s about planning ahead by learning from what has worked or not in the past.”

Bueno credits his mother with planting the seed that grew into his far-flung hospitality career, however inadvertently. “She wanted me to travel, and I wanted explore the world as much as possible,” he recalls with a laugh, recounting summers in Canada, boarding school in Ireland, a sabbatical in Florence to learn to speak Italian, and eventually hospitality school in Switzerland.

After hospitality school, Bueno got his start in the rooms division of a lifestyle hotel in Mexico City, but switched gears to food and beverage, drawn by the creativity it enabled him to express. He moved on to oversee quality control at a restaurant in Quito, Ecuador, then was offered a plum opportunity to return home to supervise banqueting for a new luxury address in the business district of the Mexican capital. “That’s when things started to get serious.”

A little over two years later, Bueno followed the same hotel brand to Doha for his first of a now-continuous string of positions in the Middle East. Bouncing between Qatar and United Arab Emirates, including the managing the opening of an independent Mexican restaurant in Dubai by celebrity chef Eduardo Garcia, it didn’t take him long to feel right at home the region. “I’ve been given a lot of great opportunities, and that certainly helps. But I’ve also been impressed by how the Middle East is eager to open it up and grow. People want the region to be the best in the world, and they’ve attracted a lot of amazing hospitality talent to help them do it.”

Now leading talent at Four Seasons for the first time, Bueno is happy to be with the ultra-luxury leader and enjoying what he likes best about Doha. “My wife, who’s Tunisian, is a foodie to the max like me, and there are a lot of places for us to explore here.” Meanwhile, his mother, who sent him around the world, is thrilled with his success. “She sometimes regrets making me travel so much, but it paid off. She is very happy that I’m so happy.”